Wednesday, June 24. The day began with a group bus tour around Budapest. The first stop was Hero's Square, quite near the hotel. The seven horsemen represent the seven tribes of the Magyars who came from the east.

A panorama of the Hero's square colonnade and memorial to those who gave their lives for Hungary. This is familiar: we were here in 2012. Indeed this whole bus tour overlapped with the 2012 tour, but focused a bit more on the Pest side and seemed, overall, more coherent.

The tall column is topped by the archangel Gabriel, holding representations of crown of St. Stephen and the apostolic double cross given to him in recognition of his conversion of the Hungarians to Christianity.

To the south, the Hall of Art (Műcsarnok, Kunsthall).

Grand, old, and gently decaying buildings across the street. From here we drove around the City Park and on some of the streets of central Pest.

Next stop, the Parliament building.

Two flags were flying. This one, the Hungarian flag, I knew. The other I didn't.

It's the Szekler flag. The Szeklers are a Hungarian-speaking group living in Romania. Flying it here is part of a diplomatic spat between the two countries.

A panorama of the whole huge thing.

Across the street is the Museum of Ethnography.

Museum of Ethnography.

We then made our way to Castle Hill, where the group will sing tomorrow. St. Stephen.

One of the small streets of Castle Hill.

The view down to the Parliament building.

Fisherman's Bastion.

Onto to the Citadella overlook. Parliament and the Chain Bridge. Margaret Island in the background.

The tour ended in central Pest and we were on our own. First stop, lunch. Karen and I chose this, the Buso Bistro. Pretty good Hungarian food.

St. Stephen's Basilica (Szent István-bazilika) was nearby. I'll end my visit on the balcony just below the copper dome.

Above the entryway: "I am the way, the truth, and the life." (From John 14:6)

Above the door: D. O. M. means "Deo Optimo Maximo - To God, the best, the greatest". And the rest: "... under the patronage of St. Stephen."

Inside St. Stephen's Basilica. The feel is sort of like Melk, but less ornate.

The altar.

The basilica's prized relic is the mummified right hand of Stephen.

It's in this case. For 0.50 Euros, they will turn a light on to make the photography better.

The hand. Even lit, it's not that easy to see. Karen did a little better from a different angle.